What are the current 'rules' on those multiway trailing sockets as would be found round the back of most PC's (+ printer, scanner, cable modem / router) these days please?
I think I remeber something about there an indicator light light showing they are on and possibly being fused (assuming the one in the plug top covers it?) but do they also need a switch ..?
Would it make any difference if they were to be used in an office / shop environment ( assuming they are allowed in the first place if so how please)?
Trailing sockets on sale in the UK meet electrical safety standards.
At work, for added safety, it could be argued that they should be used in conjunction with a residual current device, but there are no regulations about this. They should be included in PAT testing and trailing leads on the floor should be made safe with a rubber cable cover.
I doubt any of these are required. The danger with indicator lamps is that someone might believe one. Obviously, the socket block and cable need appropriate fuse protection, but that would normally be covered by the plug top fuse.
I would suggest you make up some rules for yourself for extension cords (regardless of number of socket outlets they have)... Never daisy-chain. Never use them as a substitute for getting the required number of fixed sockets installed in the right places. Always route the cable where it can't get damaged. Always use high quality ones, not bargin basement ones. Leads up to 12m long must be 1.25mm² conductors. Leads up to 15m long must be 1.5mm² conductors. Leads up to 25m long must be 2.5mm² conductors (which won't fit into a standard 13A plug). Don't use high current appliances like kettles and heaters with them. Don't forget to get them inspected and PAT tested regularly. Don't forget to get the installation inspected and tested regularly, and review the loading on circuits which might never have been designed to handle the number of appliances now commonly used.
I wouldn't, unless it was a temp extension lead with say an inspection lamp on the end.
Again, 'yes' for 'real' load devices (kettles, fires etc) or where you know how many devices there will be (fridge freezer) but how many double sockets would most of us actually fit behind our HiFi / TV areas (I've just counted 10!) ;-)
Makes sense ..
Again, if you wanted to extend a socket away from behind the bed and use it for a mobile phone and iPod chargers I don't think *any* 'certified' jobby would be a problem (even if only £1.99 from a shed) would it? The 'problems' come (as normal) from people not knowing how to use stuff (be it electrical sockets, cars, drills etc). Like the lad that used my (still partly coiled) 'heavy duty' extension lead for a wallpaper steamer. What do their parents teach them about .. that was explained to my daughter the first time we used a 'wound' cable .. ?
Ok, handy info ta ;-)
Sounds like a good idea but I've never seen a PAT tester in the flesh (or anyone testing stuff with them but I'm sure they must do somewhere?)
Apart from big, formal companies who actually has this done (I guess everyone should but to they)? The number of places I visited as a Comms engineer where I would see the mains cable sheath pulled out of the clamp on 13A plug top and trailing sockets etc ;-(
And I wonder how many houses have the appropriate fuse in every plug?
True, but again in the real world I wonder how often this happens? I am aware of the implications when I put most stuff together because I have been working in electronics / electrical for 30 odd years. I doubt the average man-in-the-street would consider the implications of plugging in a toaster or bedside lamp?
2=2E588 mm^2 copper wire is 0.00319 ohms per metre. 25m x 2 x 0.00319 =3D
0=2E152 ohms. So theres no way that 25m of 2.5mm^2 would have any noticeable effect on fuse or mcb action, ditto for 25m of 1.5mm^2.
0=2E152 ohm drops 1.99v at 13A, so v drop is still ok with wire half that size.
Your figures are miles off those in the wiring regs (Table 4H3B):
0.019 ohms per metre for 2.5mm² @ 60C
0.032 ohms per metre for 1.5mm² @ 60C
0.037 ohms per metre for 1.25mm² @ 60C
25m x 2 x 0.019 = 0.95 ohms. Max Zs for 13A BS1362 fuse is 2.53 ohms for 0.4 seconds disconnect (Table 41B1), so that extension cord alone is using up 38% of the allowable Zs. (Strictly, Table 41B1 only applies to fixed wiring, but the principle is the same regardless.)
Also, checking Table 41C, max allowable CPC impedance with a 13A BS1362 fuse is 0.75 ohms. 25m of 1.5mm² would be 0.8 ohm alone, without adding on the resistance of the other parts of the CPC. (Again, Table 41C only applies to fixed wiring, but the principle is the same.)
25m x 2 x 0.019 x 13 = 12.35V drop. This could be on top of max allowed drop in the wiring installation.
Permanent wiring is much safer than temporary wiring used permanently.
Some cheap ones don't have good quality sockets. Extremely few have sockets which are anywhere near the quality of even the worse fixed socket outlets.
Already discussed (earth fault loop impedance, which should result in PAT test failure). Also, if you don't have any rated less than 13A, then it's impossible to overload them even when people don't stick to no-kettle rules and the like.
Kettles and heaters and other high current appliances should be properly provisioned for, which would include providing proper socket outlets.
There's no point PAT testing all your appliances and extension cords if half your socket outlets have no earth connected.
Oh, and I missed one:
Don't coil or bunch up excessive cord length, as it can overheat; use extension cords of the right length, and in temporary situations, always fully uncoil cords and lay them out so the heat can dissipate.
Well, they are a standard piece of electrical test equipment. They aren't all suitable for testing everything, and some of them can do testing much faster than others.
However, the inspection part of "Inspection and Testing" is very much more important than the testing part. The inspection is the part which finds the majority of faults, as most are down to visible physical defects, and you pick these up with no more than a screwdriver. A PAT tester can't see the cable is pulled out of the cord grip, or a hot air paint stripper is being used as a hairdrier, both of which are failures. So even if you don't have a PAT tester, you can still get most of the benefits just by doing the inspection.
I was really answering for a workplace where you've got employers liability related to a number of Acts and insurance, and often frequent changes in use of work areas. There isn't anywhere near as much justification for doing this in the home, nor can a periodic inspection and test be performed on domestic wiring as effectively as it can in commercial premises.
You should draw this to their attention.
Except for extension cords and old appliances which predate current EU regs, you can use a 13A fuse in every plug. In much of the rest of Europe, appliances are protected at 16A, and they have to be designed to work across the whole EU market nowadays. I'm not suggesting that you go and refit all your plugtop fuses at 13A, but it's not really a problem if they already are.
Larger companies take this more seriously, particularly US ones in my experience (it's a much more serious issue with US wiring, and they tend to presume the rest of the world has the same poor wiring that they do).
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember snipped-for-privacy@cucumber.demon.co.uk (Andrew Gabriel) saying something like:
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